Fifteen
by KittyRTN2004
Summary: Taking place in the year 2024, Shawn & Juliet's 15 year old daughter AnneMarie is the center of tale of Tragedy, First Romances, and various other things.
1. Happy Birthday AnneMarie

Fifteen

Chapter 1

_7:00 A.M, Monday, August 12, 2024…Happy Birthday Anne Marie Spencer _

The blue holographic lights scrolled through the air a few feet above her head just as a loud hum went off to wake her up. She didn't need it; she woke up two hours ago.

She already knew what the words and numbers were without looking at them, her memory was just as good or even better, then her dad's. Today was her 15th birthday, but that's not what was keeping her lying awake in bed since 5:00 A.M…it was the anniversary of her mom's death.

Seven years ago on Anne's 8th birthday, her mother Juliet, left for a quick undercover spree with her partner Lassiter. Wearing a cute party hat over her wavy blonde hair, she begged her mother not to go. "But mom!" She complained, her blue eyes narrowed, looking upward. "We haven't finished our game of Virtual Stoppers yet."

"Honey," Juliet said, kneeling down so they were eye to eye. "You know how important my job is. But I'll be back before you know it." She kissed the top of Anne's forehead, and got up to leave.

Finally she swung her long legs over the side of her bed. They felt like they weighed a ton as she walked downstairs to the kitchen. She looked around the deserted messy kitchen and living room. She pulled cereal out of the cupboard and started to pour it into a tall cup. All the bowls along with other dishes were stacked a mile high in the sink. Neither Shawn nor Anne Marie were very good at house keeping, and their automatic dish loader broke down a few weeks ago.

"Morning!" Shawn said bouncing down the stairs with so much energy it was suspicious.

"Mm," Anna mumbled without looking at her dad.

"I thought…" Shawn said with too much enthusiasm. "That we could go to the amusement park today."

Anne Marie looked at him warily, putting down the spoon. "I have school."

"But you also have a life." He stated. "Come on! It'll be fun; I'll call the school and tell them you have a case of…rollercoasteritus."

She just stared at him.

Shawn let the act drop a little. "Look, I know it's the anniversary of your mom's death, but it's also your birthday, you need to allow yourself to have some fun."

Anne Marie took her cup and downed the remaining milk like a shot. "You should take your own advice dad. I don't see you having fun anymore, not since you sold Psych."

With that, she slung her bag over her shoulder and strode out the door.

She was only a year older in this memory but seemed so much different and mature standing by her father as they took one last look at the empty Psych office. Even Gus with his eight year old son, Derek, showed up to make sure they didn't miss anything. Anne wondered how a place that had once been so full of life, could feel so cold now. The pineapple smoothie stain that was once on the walls was hidden with new white paint. The clay Anne Marie and Derek threw up onto the ceiling had been scrapped off. Right then she hated her father for abandoning the agency.

"Anne Marie Spencer?" The substitute biology teacher called out.

_It's a great day outside. Why didn't I just take my dad's offer? Missing one day of school couldn't hurt. I love roller coast— _

"Ann!" Tasha, Anne Marie's best friend hissed to her. "Tell her you're here or you'll be marked absent."

Anne dragged herself back to reality. "Sorry! I'm here."

The older women turned around. "Spencer, is it?"

"Well that's my last name but I prefer to be called Anne Ma—

"No, I was just wondering if you were related to Shawn Spencer."

Anne studied her face and body language, something she did by heart. The new substitute seemed just purely curious. "He's my father."

She smiled, reminiscing. "Oh he was so nice. It's been years but I remember when he helped find the arsonist who burnt down half of the cities building projects. Isn't he a psychic?"

She shifted uncomfortably in the plastic desk chair. She tried to avoid that question. "He's not a private detective anymore."

Her face lit up. "Oh did he become a cop? I know his wife is. What's her name? Oh it's on the tip of my tongue...Juliet! How is your mother?"

Anne Marie looked from side to side. Tasha watched her worriedly; knowing how trapped her friend felt. Tasha was friends with Anne Marie since pre-school and knew full well Anne hated talking about her mom's death.

Tasha came to the rescue, waving her hand through the air. "Umm…Mrs… teacher…something" She felt lame saying that but couldn't remember the substitutes name "Do we have to take notes today?"

"Oh! Yes of course. I need to put in the documentary." She turned to the rest of the class. "Everyone needs to write down ten facts from the movie."

Even though she was supposed to be writing down boring facts she couldn't help but hear that question replay in her head. She didn't just have a photographic memory; she could remember things word for word too. 'How is your mother?'

_Dead…that's how she is. How are you? _

The casket sat closed by the hole in the ground. How crude it all seemed to Anne Marie. So barbaric, putting her mother in a box in the ground. But she sat through the stupid readings and ceremony and didn't cry at all.

Shawn didn't cry either, but he sat so stiffly and confused. Gus didn't say a word and Lassiter seemed to be lurking in the back. Karen was the only one who seemed genuinely herself as she gave a small speech about how the entire department would miss her. She even promised everyone they would find who it was that killed Juliet. Well, weren't promises made to be broken?

In the church banquet hall people came up to her and said, things like. "We'll miss her darling." Or, "If you ever need someone to talk to…" _Yeah right, you're all just here for the food. _One lady she didn't even know that well gave her a twenty dollar bill. _Oh thanks! Money makes it all better. _

Mrs. Taylor, Tasha's mom came up to her, directing Tasha from behind. She whispered in her daughter's ear, "Give her a hug."

Tasha and Anne Marie silently hugged. It felt forced and awkward but was still nice, because they both knew no matter what they would be there for each other.

The documentary wasn't even that important to Tasha either. She looked over at Anne Marie. They locked glances and grinned.

**Chapter End Notes:**

dodges pitch forks Ok, I understand some of you might be angry we killed off Jules but please keep reading. -Emily


	2. Anne and Derek

Chapter 2

Lassiter sat in the chief's office, recounting the night's events. Karen listened intently, almost desperately, hoping a clue would become apparent if he went from the beginning again.

"It was the end of the day, 7:15, when an anonymous tip was called in. Normally I don't follow up on tips myself…not since Spencer…"He trailed off. "Anyways, this one sounded promising. I wanted to check it out myself. I called in Juliet at 7:20.

By exactly 7:49 we posted ourselves a few blocks away from each other on Altman Street , but I could still see her from where I was. I was watching the ally way down by my side when I heard two shots."

Lassiter paused and looked up at Karen. He was trying to remain professional. Right then he was at a loss for any words that seemed remotely sentimental. All he could ramble out were facts and times. He tried to hide all his shock.

She nodded her head sincerely. " Carlton , I need you finish."

"I…I turned around in time to see her hit the ground." He stopped again, then as if he read her mind he added. "No cars sped off, nothing suspicious, I didn't catch anything."

He swallowed hard. "When I ran over there she was already dead."

Now straitening up he tried to survey the department. "We need to verify those bullets and…umm" He tried to clear is head and think like a detective again. "Re-check for any witnesses." He turned in his chair to get a better look out the door. Frustrated he faced Karen, "Hasn't anyone gotten hold of Spencer? Why isn't he down here yet?"

"We're still trying to reach him."

"Damn," he said under his breath, but continued listing of what he required for the case. "We, uhh…need." He shook his head, trying to make sense of everything. His brain seemed to be operating in slow motion. "We need a statement from—"

Karen touched his arm softly. " Carlton ." He continued rattling on. She spoke again, sharply. "_Carlton._" His eyes flickered up impatiently. "I think you should just go home now. Get some rest. You shouldn't be working on this case."

They were partners for almost ten years; this couldn't be easy for him. It definitely wasn't easy for Karen.

Lassiter didn't have time to disagree with Karen Vick, an officer entered the room. "We contacted Shawn."

"I'm telling you Derek, I'm fine." Anne Marie lied. Her head had been pounding since lunch and just moving from class to class made her dead tired.

"You have a fever." Derek said, opening the English Lit. classroom door for her. "Shouldn't you go home?"

She looked at him stubbornly. "This is the last class of the day. I'm pretty sure I'll live." She took the door from him. "And I am capable of opening doors you know."

Derek followed her into the cluttered classroom. But like any good friend he didn't buy her "I'm fine" act for a minute.

They were friends long enough for him to know what was wrong. He knew she hated celebrating her birthday and hated people giving her cards and throwing her parties. Derek always assumed she wanted the day to remember her mom, not to play games and throw streamers around.

On a normal day she was energetic and a little careless but whenever this day rolled around she would walk slower, daydream more and her observation skills weren't up to tee.

From the next table over he watched her massage the side of her head. Tiny beads of sweat had formed on her forehead. The fever was getting much worse. The bell rang and Anne Marie got up from the table quickly. A wave of nausea passed through her, making her clutch the chair. She felt really dizzy.

Derek hurried over to give her a hand before she fell sideways. "Yeah, of course you're fine."

Anne Marie flushed with embarrassment. "I _am _fine."

Derek could be just as stubborn. "You're going to pass out. Come on, I'm taking you home."

She snorted, and gathered her books. "Derek. You haven't been to my house in three years; I'd be surprised if you still know how to get there."

"What makes you think I haven't been there in so long? Maybe I stalk you and wait outside you're bedroom window every night." He joked.

She didn't laugh with him. Another dizzy spell came over her. She wavered to the right. "Actually maybe I should have someone take me home."

He held open the door and this time she graciously took it.

The waves crashed against the beach, afternoon sunlight illuminating Juliet's loose wavy hair. Shawn was wearing one of his famous goofy grins, despite it being their wedding day his hair was ruffled. They walked hand in hand by the tide pools. Juliet's simple, lacy wedding dress flowed around her ankles. It was the perfect candid shot, a real Kodak moment. Often as a child, Anne Marie would take the photo from it's album and crawl up on her mother's lap with it. Juliet would always tell her the story behind it.

"It was a small wedding on the beach. I remember how you're dad showed up with his hair dyed purple." Juliet chuckled at the thought. "We went through five boxes of dye before his hair was back to the right color."

Anne Marie's eyes widened. She heard the story a million times but still loved listening to it. She waited gleefully to hear the next part she knew so well.

"We were dancing on the pavilion at sunset. It was our first dance as husband and wife. He took me in his arms and spun me around. The wooden floor was slick and he went to fast. We ended up falling off the pavilion platform and landing right in the wedding cake." She left out the part where Shawn laughed and said, 'This isn't right. I thought you were supposed to jump out of the cake.'

Anne Marie smiled and looked back at the photo. Juliet squeezed her daughter into a tight hug.

"You led us onto the wrong bus!" Anne Marie cried, holding her aching head in frustration. "How out of it was I to let you lead us to the coast?!"

"You're the one who insisted on taking a bus. I wanted to ride the monorail." Derek replied.

"I told you, the monorail doesn't go anywhere near my neighborhood."

"Well, you're feeling better, aren't you?" Derek asked hopefully.

"That doesn't matter. We need to find when the next bus comes by."

Derek shrugged, "Won't come for another hour. Well since we're down here, do you want to take a walk? Get something? We can head over to the beach."

Anne Marie inhaled sharply. "I get it! Coming here wasn't a mistake. You wanted to come here. You wanted this to be like a date, didn't you?"

"I was just taking you home. I was worried about you."

Anne opened her mouth to argue back but the look in his eyes stopped her. He was telling the truth. She couldn't help but be disappointed. She plopped down on the graffiti bus bench. "Oh…well what now?"


	3. She Said She Would Come Back

Derek sat down on the edge of the bus stop bench, watching the very few cars on the road fly by, the sunset behind them turned the sky orange and the beach in the distance reflected the last rays. In response to her question of 'what now?' he cleared his throat. "We wait for the next bus."

She stayed silent, her gaze fixed on the setting sun and the coast line. Her eyes followed the horizon, coming to rest on a familiar looking pavilion. It was the pavilion from the wedding photos. Shawn and Juliet's wedding photos.

Anne turned away, the sadness apparent on her face.

Derek watched her carefully. "Wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Good."

"Yes."

Derek turned to her, confused, "Yes that's good that you don't want to talk about it or yes as in you _do_ want to talk about it."

"The second one." She said plainly.

"I'll listen." Derek said back in the same monotone voice.

"It was my 8th birthday…"

_The party was finally coming to an end. Anne Marie's friends were leaving. The house was cleared and Shawn started picking up the paper plates and party favors when the phone rang. He walked into the living room and looked at the large screen on the wall. _

_The caller ID on it flashed 'Santa Barbara Police Department' _

_Shawn flipped the switch to answer and turned on his own screen to see the face of an officer he recognized from the station._

"_Mr. Spencer?" An officer asked._

"_Shawn." He said, wondering what was going on._

"_I'm going to connect you to the Chief's office."_

_The image flickered to Karen Vick's office. "I'm glad we finally reached you."_

"_It was Anne Marie's party, I turned off my phone." Shawn explained. _

"_Shawn I have some very bad news."_

_The bag of chips Shawn was holding slipped from his hand. Karen Vick never called him Shawn, it was always Mr. Spencer. Something must have happened. "Juliet…"_

"_Yes, it's about Juliet." Karen's voice was soft and somber. "She was murdered tonight. I'm sorry, there was nothing anyone could do." Telling someone their loved one died was something she learned to do throughout her career but it had never been as hard as it was right now. _

"_Dead?__" He asked without thinking. _

_Karen just gave him another sympathetic look._

_Shawn stumbled backwards from the screen. His breathing stopped as he stared at the screen. Thoughts ran rapid through his head. __Murdered? How? What about Anne Marie? How am I going to tell her? _

_Anne peeked from behind the living room doorway off to the side. She overheard but stayed frozen where she was. She was scared. She heard about death before but didn't really know what it meant. When her great grandma O'Hara died her mom told her she went to a better place. But Anne didn't know what the meant. _

_Shawn didn't move. He stared down at the carpet and the mess of Doritos he dropped, his unsteady hands held back his hair and hid his face. _

_Karen stayed on the line. "I think it would be best if you came down to the station."_

_Anne watched her dad lift his head, his eyes were teary but he tilted his head back and opened his eyes wider to prevent the tears from actually falling. His eyes were moist and seemed…confused, disbelieving. Shawn always said the eyes are the window to the soul. _

_That's when he noticed his daughter."Anne." He walked over then nodded to Karen on the screen. "I'll…be right there." He flipped the switch to hang up._

"_Where's mom?" Anne asked walking closer. "She said she'd be back but…" Anne didn't know how to finish. If dying was just going to a better place then maybe her mom would be back. Maybe it was just a trip and her mom would come back like she said she would. _

_Shawn faced Anne Marie and put aside his own thoughts. He had to focus on Anne right now. He knelt down in front of her just like Juliet had before she left. "Mom, won't be coming back. There was an accident tonight and she was hurt."_

_Anne Marie just didn't understand. "But she __said __she'd be back." _

_Shawn didn't know how to explain it. "Do you remember when great granny O'Hara died? She went to heaven, and that's were your mother is now. She's with her in heaven." I hurt Shawn to say that but he had to make it clear to Anne Marie. _

"_But won't she come back?" Anne asked, tears starting to form in her own eyes._

_Shawn looked down and took another shaky breath. "She won't Ann; she's in a better place now."_

_That phrase again, a better place. Anne Marie shook her head side to side, "But why would she rather be there then here?" _

_Shawn looked back at her strongly. "You know your mom would always want to be—"_

"_Then she'll be back. She'll be back dad! She said she would." Anne Marie said stubbornly, shaking her head again, blonde hair waving over each shoulder with every turn. _

_Trying to be gentle he placed his hands on her swaying shoulders. "She can't come back, Ann. She's gone."_

"I think I gave myself a headache from shaking my head so many times." Anne Marie said to Derek. She chuckled bitterly at the memory.

"I'm so sorry Anne. I didn't know that you didn't understand." Derek said giving a shiver. The normally warm night air felt exceptionally colder.

She shrugged. "Most kids don't fully comprehend death until they're nine. Plus no one ever really explained it to me."

"I think you need something to cheer you up. How about we go get something to eat…my treat?" Derek offered with a smile.

"Yeah I guess." Anne Marie said, not caring if it was a date or not.

Derek made a big show of opening the glass McDonald's door for Anne Marie. With a big flourish of his arm he bowed her inside.

"Why thank you kind sir." She curtsied and then grinned as he tipped a make believe hat.

Together they walked up to the girl behind the counter. Derek linked his arm around her's like a gentleman would escort a lady. He stuck his nose up and spoke in an exaggerated snooty manner. "Yes, we will have the caviar with a side of the roast duck."

Anne Marie burst out laughing, bending over to stifle her giggles. The girl behind the counter just looked on with annoyance.

Anne Marie straightened up, but was unable to hide her smile. "Two Big Macs please."

When they got their food they snagged a table that had already self sanitized itself (one of the newer technologies fast food places had picked up.)

Picking up a fry Derek spoke first. "So I guess we really are on a date now."

Anne smiled widely. "Don't kid yourself Derek."

In response Derek shot his paper straw wrapper at Anne, hitting her right in the forehead.

She laughed. "Oh this means war!" She said tearing off the tip of her own straw wrapper to prepare a paper missile.

_Back when Shawn and Juliet were dating for awhile… _

"_Juliet! Juliet! There's something in your hair!" Shawn shouted in a high pitched voice, fanning himself dramatically. "Get it out! Get it out!" _

_A few officers looked at him curiously as they passed on by but a few stopped to see what __the psychic __was up to now. _

_One younger officer standing near Juliet glanced over to look at her hair. "I don't see anything." _

_Juliet continued trying to work, pretending she couldn't hear them. She even dug her head farther behind a case file to hide her amused smile. Shawn never failed to make her smile. _

"_Please Jules! It's there, take it out! It's clouding my inner eye." He clapped a hand to his forehead, apparently where his "inner eye" was. _

"_Fine. I'll play." She dropped the file and reached back to run her fingers over her blonde, messy bun. They brushed against something small and metallic. She untangled her hair tie and pulled out a modest but gorgeous silver engagement ring. Juliet went noticeably pink. _

_Shawn glanced around; sure that even Lassiter just saw what happened. "Jules, will you marry me?"_

"_Shawn." She said breathlessly, getting up from her desk. "We've only been dating for four months."_

"_But we've been flirting for twelve." He said playfully. _

"_I…I can't." She gathered up her things and walked over to Shawn. She took his hand, put it palm up and set the ring there. "I can't." She turned and left the station quickly. _

_Shawn stayed still in place, shocked. _

_He could feel the pairs of eyes on him, waiting to see how he would react. He held up the ring and studied it. "Maybe she didn't like it. Well it looked pretty when it was in the gumball machine." _

_Later that night, around 2 A.M, Juliet went to her bedroom window, she thought she heard singing outside her house. She was right._

"_Every night, in my dreams, I see yooooou, I feeeeeeel you. That is how I know you go ooooooooon—"_

"_Shawn!" Juliet cut him off, leaning out her window. "What are you doing?" _

_Here Shawn was, singing the lyrics to My Heart Will Go On from Titanic. And he was sitting in the tree outside her house. _

"_Jules!" He shouted happily, teetering dangerously on a single branch. _

"_What do you think you're doing? How did you get up that tree?" _

_His eyes were out of focus. "I flew!" He burst out laughing hysterically, somehow finding that very funny. "Did ya hear that Jul? I flew!" _

_He took his arms off the branch to flap them at his side but put them back when he saw how bad his balance was. That's when it hit Juliet. "You're drunk!"_

_Now his speech was really slurred, as if the thought of how much alcohol he had made it worse. "Maybe a little…but I never had so much fun with karaoke! Oh and Jules? Do you know where my shoe is?" He kicked up his leg onto the branch and wiggled his toes, nearly causing himself to swing out of the tree. _

"_Sit still or you're going to kill yourself. Why are you here?" She hissed, pushing her window open more. _

"_You said you wouldn't marry me? Why not?" _

"_Shawn! It's just too soon. You're not thinking clearly, go home."_

_Shawn ignored her and went back to singing, leaning back for full use of his lungs to make it really loud. "Far across the distance! And spaces…betweeeeeeen us!"_

_A voice from a few houses away broke through the darkness. "Hey! Shut up or I'll call the police."_

_At this point you could tell by Shawn's voice alone he was drunk. "I am the police!"_

_Now Juliet was getting worried. "Get down! I'm serious."_

"_Why did you walk away?" Shawn's demeanor changed. Now he seemed hurt and disheartened._

_Juliet sighed and leaned against the window frame. "Choosing who you're going to spend the rest of your life with isn't like choosing a candy bar at the store! It's a life decision. We can't rush into this. __I __can't rush into this." _

_Two Months Later…_

"_Keep that blindfold on." Shawn said looking over at Juliet in the passenger seat. _

"_It's not like I'm going to take it off now after keeping it on for a twenty minute car ride."_

_Shawn smiled at her even though she couldn't see through the cloth tied over her eyes. He pulled over the car into the wide field. The sky was perfect and sunny. He gave Juliet a hand out of the car and walked her across the field. _

_At the end he positioned her right in front of a single hot air balloon. He untied her blindfold. _

_Juliet gasped. "We're riding in that?" _

"_I know a person. Who knows a person, who knows a guy's brother." Shawn said smiling. He was relived that she looked delighted. _

_After a few minutes they were up in the air. _

_She gazed over the edge in awe. "Don't you need experience in this before they actually allow you to fly hot air balloons?"_

_Shawn shrugged his shoulders. "You're right; I don't know what I'm doing. The guys down there just let me take off. I have no experience what so ever. Hey what does this thingy do here?" He pulled the chain that released hot air into the balloon's canvas and they went rushing up. _

"_Shawn." She said breathlessly, crouching down protectively, grasping the sides._

_He laughed. "I'm just kidding with you Jules. I do know what I'm doing. I worked with the Eldridge hot air balloon services when I was 20. I worked with the guys who set this up." _

_She composed herself, and brushed back a string of hair. "So why did you choose this for a date? Seems pretty elaborate" _

"_Well this isn't just any date." Shawn reached into his pocket and took out the same exact silver engagement ring he held two months ago. _

"_Why did you pick a hot air balloon to propose to me in?" She said, avoiding looking at the ring. _

"_You couldn't walk away this time."_

**Chapter End Notes:**

Okay, well...this was a weird chapter to write becuase of the phone call flashback. I just didn't know if did so well or if it came off cheesy and OOC. Thanks for reading. Emily


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